★★★★☆ A less frequently performed opera of Verdi, Macbeth never reaching the iconic status of his much later cracks at Shakespeare, Falstaff and Otello. The piece has a very different feel to those operas but ETO prove that it is a piece of many virtues that deserves to be brought to audiences more often.
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★★★★☆ Baal is the picaresque story concerning the history of a dissolute anti-hero, an outsider who through a particular genius gains a mythical cult status – something which no doubt attracted David Bowie to the role for the BBC production in 1982. . . The show manages to pull off the double hit of being both engrossing and entertaining with consummate artistry by all concerned.
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★★★☆☆ Jekyll and Hyde picks up where the original novella ends, focussing on Jekyll’s wife, Harriet, as she investigates her husband’s mysterious death. This story of discovery shifts between the original Victorian setting and the modern day, where we see the similarities in these societies and the struggles women are forced to face.
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The Directors ’Cuts seasons have become known for showcasing edgy, contemporary theatre, and We...
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★★★☆☆ The action of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s play (based on actual events in the history of the transportation of convicts to Australia) revolves around the staging of a play, The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar, with convicts as the actors.
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★★★★☆ The stage version of cleaves very strongly to the film. Cuts and edits have of course been made to better fit the medium but this is not a drastic reinterpretation of the material. The story beats hit the same points and the emotional arcs of the characters map out identically . . . If you are willing to excuse a few dated aspects inherited from the film version, Rain Man remains a very engaging piece of work.
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